Panthers pound Cardinals 49-15 to make Super Bowl 50

Carolina advanced to a Super Bowl 50 date with the Broncos thanks to a 49-15 win over the Cardinals, in an NFC Championship Game that hardly looked like a game between the league’s top two scoring offenses.

The Panthers rolled from start to finish, avoiding the kind of second-half letdowns that nearly derailed them a week ago against the Seahawks and so many times during the regular season.

Mostly, that was because Cam Newton continued to show why he was the likely MVP, carrying his team to a dominant performance.

Newton threw for 335 yards and two touchdowns, and ran for two more scores to pace an offense that never stalled.

Meanwhile, the Panthers harassed Palmer throughout the day, never allowing him to take advantage of a secondary that was strapped by injuries, with a pair of cornerbacks who were out of the league in October.

But instead of taking advantage, Palmer was the one who looked out of his depth, turning it over six times (four interceptions, two fumbles).

The Cardinals made mistakes from start to finish, but this was something actively taken away by the Panthers rather than gifted. For all the plays as large as Newton’s touchdown, there were many smaller ones along the way which shined a light on the way this Panthers team has played all year.

When Newton threw an interception, Ted Ginn spotted Cardinals cornerback Patrick Peterson a 10-yard head start, but prevented a pick-six by chasing him down from behind. That play allowed Palmer to throw a momentum-killing interception.

Other than that late-season speed bump against the Falcons, nothing has stopped the Panthers momentum this season. And now only Peyton Manning and the Broncos defense stands in their way now.

Panthers are gonna CRUSH the Broncos. Cam showed today again why he is the MVP, our defense showed today why we are the best in the keague, and in two weeks we will show the world why we are the best team! KEEP POUNDING!

If this game is any indication,the Broncos will absolutely be destroyed in the Super Bowl. If they can figure out how to stop that offense AND that defense of Carolina’s,then they deserve to win. As for the Patriots,they didn’t deserve the win today.

louiedogg16 says:Jan 24, 2016 10:05 PM

Cardinals were a big let down the last 3 games. Unfortunately I don’t think ole’ manning has it in him, so that broncos D n ends to come through.

Too bad the only people who will ever root for this team are obnoxious teenage boys! They act like the WWE’s version of the New Day! If anyone finds this appealing, you’re as immature as Newton and all the other hotdogers! What a shame the sport has become!

First, the panthers are going crush the Broncos. Second, I don’t know how it happened but Patrick Peterson is the most overrated player in the NFL. I know I’m gonna get killed for that comment but I’m right. I don’t get how everyone came to the conclusion he’s a great player. Watched almost every game he’s played and yes he’s fast but he gives up big plays every game and is the worst tackling corner I’ve seen. He muffed that punt and didn’t want to get in on that scrum. He was standing there hoping because he’s afraid.

Deb says:Jan 24, 2016 10:10 PM

Congrats to the Panthers and their fans.

With no dog in the hunt, I was rooting for Arizona because of Fitzgerald and former Steelers OC Arians, but also because of Palmer. After all those hard years in Cincy, it would have been nice for the guy to get a taste of real success. But this game answered a lot of questions about his capabilities–and his limitations. For years, Steelers fans have listened to Bengals fans whine that Palmer’s injury in the ’05 playoffs cost them their shot at a Super Bowl.

I’ve always respected that Palmer himself said it wasn’t a dirty hit (just as the film showed). But I’ve never understood why that injury was the excuse for years of failure when so many others had suffered the same injury and gone on to have tremendous success. Some people just choke in big games. Palmer’s decade-old knee injury didn’t cause him to throw all those interceptions today anymore than it’s kept Cincy from winning a playoff game since 1991. It is what it is.

If this had been a professional boxing match, the refs would have stopped it. Maybe BA will express some humility.
All four teams that played today are good organizations, with involved ownership. They are the “cure” to “Kroenke-itis”!

Good thing Scam can play ball because after hearing that interview there’s no way he ever opened up a text book in school

revelation123 says:Jan 24, 2016 10:15 PM

The Cardinals didn’t even deserve to be playing in this game. Even without their top 4 WRs, Green Bay outplayed them nearly the entire game. The Cardinals got lucky on a bad throw by Palmer which got tipped right into the arms of a Cardinals WR in the end zone.

Green Bay would have put up a better fight, they have a much better QB.

Been telling az fans since they got him…hes a bum and a choke artist, always has been, nothin like seeing both nfc west teams choke and get stomped!!! Hey BA, i thought you were guaranteeing a sb win in LEVIS?! haha nice try

So what will the halftime deficit be 2 or 3 tds?? I cant imagine manning not throwing at least 3picks by halftime of the SB. I hope he wins another one just cuz he deserves it. No way should he have less rings then his bum ass little brother. But the panthers defense is legit. If he wins it. Theyre gonna have to run it 40times and hope the panthers dab their way into a few defensive turnovers that they can score on. Because if they fall behind and he has to throw it. Its gonna be ugly. I dont if its gonna 43-8 ugly. But its gonna be bad.

As if getting beat down in the conference championship wasn’t painful enough. Having the opponent take a team selfie on the sidelines in the 4th quarter with time left on the clock has to be the ultimate slap in the face

Now we have to listen to the same Peyton haters for two more weeks! The so called prognosticators can shove it!! How did the 2000 Super Bowl work out for the Giants after there NFC Championship game beatdown of the Vikins end up? You trolls on here wouldn’t know since the majority of you never were born or even knew the game existed before this modern day garbage that Carolina puts out! It’s an embarassment to everything the game stands for!

seahawkfanfrom1970s says:Jan 24, 2016 10:41 PM

Panthers and the Rams are the most physical teams in the NFL. Only difference is the Rams never learned to win outside of our division.

Just shows how many fools don’t know football on this site… and play the momentum game.

But if you think a team as young and talented as AZ..and is not in cap hell situation is over, you need some serious help.
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No, the help needs to go to AZ. Your QB is 36 years old and has continued his streak of folding under pressure. This wasn’t a bad playoff loss; it was a mental implosion by Palmer.
At least Brady can say he fought through adversity today.
Carson has no such comfort and will be playing for the LA Rams next year.
This young AZ team is going to only get older waiting for their new, unknown QB to get up to speed.

Ed says: Once a Bungle, always a Bungle.
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Now you blame other teams’ failures on Cinci too? Either your hatred or your stupidity runs deep, Ed.

jvw1982 says:Jan 24, 2016 11:14 PM

Love me some Cam Newton but don’t sleep on that Bronco defense, they are the real deal, they stopped Brady on 3 of 4 possessions inside the red zone in the 4th quarter then stuffed him on the two point conversion that could have tied the game, that’s not easy to do, in fact if it didn’t just happen I would have said it could never happen….this will be a good game in two weeks…..

Bruce Arians called the Panthers “the worst second half team in the NFL”, according to Erin Andrews.

Well, if that’s true, how bad would a “good” second half team have beaten his team down?

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Ya and he was spouting his mouth off on how, if the packers had to return to AZ for a playoff game, they would still be black and blue from the beating his team game them two weeks earlier. That is a moron speaking. Very glad to see his head handed to him today. His team is black and blue tonight

j huber says:
Jan 24, 2016 1:27 PM
.Change their turf before big game. Obviously that means nothing to folks who have no morals or ethics. But everybody deserve to know who the low life scum are. As the sports casters said, nobody wanted to face Seattle, so they found a way to cheat.

ReligionIsForIdiots says:
Jan 24, 2016 10:37 PM
Carolina is the luckiest team on earth. Put another 30 seconds on that clock and Seattle is rolling into Santa Clara
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Carolina fans, get used to posts like this and a lot worse from the 12’s. It is what happens when you end Seattle’s season.
Congrats on the win and good luck in the SB.

That’s what a lot of people said about the Broncos before they played the Patriots today. How did that work out?

fjackie says:Jan 25, 2016 12:03 AM

One and done. Anyone?

verysmartandverygoodlooking says:Jan 25, 2016 12:13 AM

30 seconds and Seattle wins! 45 minutes and Arizona comes close. Time ran out and Carolina is going to the Super Bowl. Deal with it boys and girls because this is what it is going to be like. Congratulations Cam and good luck to the new look of the NFL. The Carolina Panthers are about to change it all. This year is going to be special,

Congrats Carolina and condolences to the Card fans. Both teams had great season and yes, the Cardinals have lots of talent and pieces in place to groom a young qb because Palmer can’t hang in the post season. Finding a qb to groom isn’t easy but it can be done if you got a guy to teach them right and Arizona has that as Kubiak showed it can be done.

Lets be honest. The pats were gonna lose if they made it, and so will the Broncos. The Panthers beat the version 2.0 Broncos in the Cardinals… elite defense, and offense more consistent than denver. Now they get an EASIER version of the same thing… Panthers win it all. GG it’s already over.

The two best teams this year were Seattle and Carolina whoever won out of those elite teams was going to win it all anyways. The broncos offense is terrible period, they are still going up against a elite defense. They can absolutely score but if Manning can’t pass like Palmer can’t with his injury their is no chance for Denver. Ultimately you have to have a respectable offense which Denver does not have to go along with a decent offense. Seattle was #9 that year.

Carolina while unconventional is basically running triple option wing T with some deep passing is hard to prepare for but with two weeks I suspect Denver to be prepared. For those mentioning how Denver was killed by the #1 defense of seattle let’s look back on stats Seattle was probably the very best defense of all time. Denver is not anywhere close to that at all. I mean one could argue Seattle this season on an off year was still the #1 defense bc they finished #1 in more than a few categories in particular points. Denver is sort of #1 this season and they are going up against a mobile qb not a statue who wants to out smart everyone so cams going to find something even if it’s just throwing his body on the line.

20 years I’ve sat through awful teams and even good ones, but I never thought as a Panthers fan I would see this in my life.

For weeks when people questioned this team I kept myself calm by repeating, “either we are good enough to win it all, or we are not.” I got rewarded tonight but felt happier for the team.

What a ride……i may have to take out a second mortgage to attend this game but I’m going.

billh1947 says:Jan 25, 2016 6:41 AM

The antics of Cam Newton last night after he scored were sickening,he acted like a little child whos never been in the endzone before and not an adult NFL player,look at me I’m Cam Newton, THE MAN,I’m so damn great it hurts. his arrogance was sickening.Go Denver!!

I don’t know who I’d like to see win the SB. I’m already sick of Cam’s idiotic showboating, and I’ve disliked the Broncos for ages; ever since Elway was drafted by the Colts and whined that he wouldn’t play for them.

Amazing how all of sudden, just about everybody is jumping in the wagon after this Panthers rout. The same people who predicted that it was gonna be easily a Patriots-Cardinals superbowl. It shows how much they know the game, which is nothing. Go Broncos !!

What I saw on these comment sections last week: a whole bunch of Pats fans blowing hot air about how the Broncos didn’t stand a chance, and hardly a peep from Broncos fans going the other way.

Now it looks like Carolina fans are going to be doing their best Pats fans impressions for the next two weeks. My theory is that people like to talk up their teams to cover up their feelings of insecurity about their chances. Or maybe they’re just blowhards. I don’t really know.

At any rate, I’m looking forward to this game a lot. If nothing else, at least it will be a match-up that isn’t a regular season rematch. Yay for that!

fanofpft says:Jan 25, 2016 10:08 AM

The last Panthers win when Olsen scored a TD. There was a line of players forming for what must have been a planed celebration. Olsen wanted no part in it and walked off the other side.

What I saw on these comment sections last week: a whole bunch of Pats fans blowing hot air about how the Broncos didn’t stand a chance, and hardly a peep from Broncos fans going the other way.

Now it looks like Carolina fans are going to be doing their best Pats fans impressions for the next two weeks. My theory is that people like to talk up their teams to cover up their feelings of insecurity about their chances. Or maybe they’re just blowhards. I don’t really know.
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They’re blowhards. I’m a huge Pats fan, always have been, but the Broncos defense was better yesterday. It was the battle of the defenses, both offenses stalled out. The Patriots’ o-line was a revolving door for their defense, and I knew that would be an issue. I knew it wouldn’t be an easy game.

But I think Carolina will give the Broncos’ defense a run for their money. He’s not as easy to contain as Brady is. Brady has improved on his scrambling the last two years, but Cam Newton is much better at it. Their defensive front line will be a challenge for Carolina, but they have more options to deal with that pressure than the Patriots have.

Unless the Broncos offense really steps up (they were just as terrible at the Patriots’ offense was), they won’t beat the Panthers.

This franchise is playing its 21st season. Already we have had to endure 1-15 in 2001, 2-14 in 2010, 4-12 in 1998, Rae Carruth, Fred Lane, the stupid signings of Sean Gilbert, Chuck Smith and Doug Evans, and the drafting of Rashard Anderson, Jason Peter, Stefan LaFors, Derrick Shelton, Jimmy Clausen and Armanti Edwards in the first 4 rounds of drafts. We had to endure John Fox telling his OC to “stop throwing the f-ing ball” and the insufferable “it is what it is” and “he’s got a knee” during pressers that would put amphetamine freaks to sleep. While there have been several good teams, only the 2003 and 2008 teams had genuine, legitimate chances to win the Super Bowl. And we’ve had to endure all this in a city largely made up of people who grew up in other cities, many of which not only stuck with the teams they were raised with, but they have actively demonized the local team and wore “My favorite team is whoever is playing the Panthers” like a badge of honor. (Some of these people have managed to acquire season tickets and seek out opposing teams’ fans to sell their tickets to in an attempt to ruin home field advantage).

So those of us who have been with the team since the day in October 1993 when the Panthers were announced into existence by Paul Tagliabue, we feel like we have been to hell and back. We have longed for this. And yes, we’re yelling and screaming about it – just as fans of every team does when in this position.